This invention relates to testing simulation models.
Referring to FIG. 1, in a typical simulation environment 10, reality 12 is simulated by a model 14 of equations composed by the simulation developer. The model can be viewed as having a set of inputs and a set of outputs with the equations controlling what sequence of outputs will be generated for a given sequence of inputs.
To validate a model, calibration and testing procedures 16 are used to compare simulation model outputs 18 with calibration data 20. The simulation model outputs 18 are generated by feeding external inputs 22 (representative of reality) to the model equations. The calibration data 20 represent real output data that correspond to the external inputs 22. If a sufficient range of simulation outputs square with the corresponding calibration data, the model 14 is said to be validated. Otherwise, the developer attempts to improve the performance of model 14 by modifying its equations.